New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-01-26
REFORM TO THE REAR.

Be it q good or bad thing, one thing the
professed Civil Service refOrmers have done,
who helped to elect President Cleveland and
afterward commended him through thick and
thin because they were ashamed to confess that
they had made mistake. They have brought
1t to pass that Civil Service reform is less con-
sidered, by friends or foes, by people in Office
or by people out of Office. than 1t was before
the Republican party enacted the Civil Ser
vice law. No one wastes time any longer In
considering whether the President regards or
enforces the law. For every one knows that
the spirit and intent of the law and the object
of the reform are set aside Now and then
some Democrat who stOuuy opposes the reform
points out with glcc that the President has
made certain removals or certain appointments
without the shadow of a pretencc that the law
was Observed Most people, convinced long
ago that the removal of over 10000 officials,
whose fidelity and qualifications were acknowl-
edged, was in fact and was meant to be de-
feat of the reform and Il systematic orsanlza-
ton of the public service for partisan purposes.
have ceased to worry themselves about the de-
tails. They conclude that if the President
wants to make the law void and Of no effect,
as his selection OF Mr.. Oberly as commissioner
sufficiently indicated. he will easily find way.
For while the clamors OF importunate DEM
ocrats, whose claims the President had not
chosen to recognize and to whom the law had
been held up as barrier, kept the country
aware that the law still evitcd. These people
rallied at the President for his Civil Service
because they could not get what
they wanted, and they thus helped to cover the
fact that many others were getting what
they wanted But gradually il has dawncd
upon tho Democratic mind that the President
is steadily organizing the entire service as
partisan machine, and also as a Cleveland ma
chine Then it occurs to the faithful that the
party is going to get what it wanted, though
some individuals may not, and that 1T is not
going to be comfortable in time to come for
Democrats who fight against this deliberately
organized machine. Thus there is heard much
less complaint; the soreheads are mostly ST.
lent, and tho glad hosannas Of grateful par
tisans testify to the wisdom and virtue Of the
President.
The only use of Civil Service reform, in this
state of things is conveniently to excuse the
President and other officials, when they fail to |
satisfy the hungry. That use it now serves.
But it does not prevent the dccapitation of |
trained and faithful Republicans as fast as the |
right Democrats to serve the party and the |
President can lie selected. 1t does not prevent |
the removal Of many Republicans for doing |
things which tho new Democratic officials are
doing without rcbuke. 1t does not
make the public service less partisan, or more
capable, or more honest, and these were the
essential aims of the reform. No candid Dem
ocrat, reviewing what is known Of Mr. Car
lands department, or of Sparks and his under
lings, or of Atkins and his pcst-tradcrshps.
or of Bayard and his foreign ENJOYS and con-
sus, or of the appointments in the revenue
service, or of the selection of jailbirds and
Democratic editors and committeeman for post
masters, will venture to say that he believes
the public service has as yet been made better
than it was before President Clcveland's in